COLOMBO, 13 March, 2021 (TON): Sri Lanka Minister of Public Security, Sarath Weerasekera announced on Saturday that the wearing of the burga (full face and body covering) will be banned in the country; besides, over thousand Islamic schools are to be closed.

The action will affect the country’s minority Muslim population as the paper signed on Friday for the cabinet approval to safeguard national security.

The minister said, "In our early days Muslim women and girls never wore the burqa."

"It is a sign of religious extremism that came about recently. We are definitely going to ban it," he added.

In 2019, the country temporarily banned wearing of burqa as it faced many bombings that killed more than 250 people.  

Reflecting the government ban of burqa and shutting the schools reflects mandating last year’s order of the cremation of pandemic victims against the Muslim community who bury their dead. However, earlier this year, the burqa ban was lifted as the U.S. and the international rights groups condemned and criticized the order.